


Omega Phi Lambda

by LSFOREVER



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Femslash, Fraternities & Sororities, Girl Direction, OH niall is southern :), Set in California, Will add more tags as I go, all the good sorority stuff, but the rest are american, louis and harry are both british, one use of a transphobic slur, rush week and initiation and pledges, they're all girls (except zayn who is nb)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-02
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2018-11-22 12:13:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 17,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11379942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LSFOREVER/pseuds/LSFOREVER
Summary: It's Harry's final year of college. Which means as a senior and the Vice President of her sorority, she gets to live in the sorority house with her five best friends for the year.Louis is new in town and to the school, and all she's looking for is a new place she can call home.or, the American College Girl Direction Sorority Fic that nobody asked for ft. lots of pining and sexual tension, blooming friendships, the one and only Perrie Edwards as the sorority president, Niall as the crazy southern best friend, and Zayn and Liam as the perfect couple that everybody is in love with.





	1. Rush Week

**Author's Note:**

> Look!? A fic that's not written for an exchange. It's been a while since I've written one of those, huh? It's also a chaptered fic (it was supposed to be a short one-shot what is WRong with me).
> 
> First and foremost, a BIG thank you to my beta [Bonnie<3](http://larryismyotpuniverse.tumblr.com/) (and a mention goes to charlie as always for being my #1).
> 
> I will add more tags when the chapters are uploaded, so watch out for those. Also, [here's a tumblr post](http://harrystinyshorts.tumblr.com/post/163698720199/omega-phi-lamda-by-lsforever-me-chapters-16) if you'd like to reblog and follow? It'd mean a lot!
> 
>  **TW** for one transphobic slur in the first chapter! Liam is trans female and there's one slur thrown at her (not by anybody important). Louis stands up for Liam though so all is well. Just be careful while reading the first chapter please!
> 
> Kat Xx
> 
> [ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/153269824@N05/36155510982/in/dateposted-public/)
> 
>  

**Chapter One**

 

Harry is brushing her hair, fresh out of the shower, when Niall comes barging in her bathroom. She doesn’t bat an eye even though Harry is stark naked, a hair tie on her wrist being the only thing adorning her body, and Harry waves her fingers at the bottle-blonde in the mirror.

“What’s up?” Harry says, setting her brush down next to her sink and pulling her long curls up into a messy bun. She had planned on waking up earlier so she could actually do her hair, but instead she’d stayed up texting Nick about the trip to the beach they’re planning for a couple weekends from now.

Oops.

“I thought you were gonna do your hair,” Niall comments in her deep southern accent as she plops down on closed toilet. Her own hair, dyed blonde again, is pulled over to one side, the other side shaved, and she’s already wearing her designated Rush Week Outfit - colored leggings and a tight tank-top that leaves little to the imagination.

Harry shrugs, saying, “I slept through my alarm on accident,” as she pulls her hair back out and picks out one of her scarfs hanging behind her door, black with white crosses. She wants to at least look like she tried this morning. It’s only Wednesday, and she still needs to try to impress all the girls rushing Omega Phi Lambda this week. As a senior, as well as the Vice President, she’s expected to be at all meals and events so she can help decide who will be initiated this year. The sort-of authority she has also means she wants to impress all the new girls, so she always tries to at least dress semi-nice.

“You, Harry Styles, slept through your alarm?” Niall sounds fake-surprised, and barely a second later she’s laughing at her own joke. She’s always easily amused; it’s one of the things Harry loves about her most.

Harry rolls her eyes, finishing adjusting the scarf so it sits right, and finding her mascara. Simple and effective. After, she goes out into her bedroom, Niall following and making herself comfortable on Harry’s bed while Harry sifts through her closet. “I’m not always a morning person, Ni. Sometimes I need my beauty sleep.”

“Black romper,” Niall replies just as Harry passes it, and Harry doesn’t second guess her judgement, pulling it off the hanger. It has spaghetti straps and pockets and hangs looser in the front so she doesn’t have to wear a bra with it, and she pairs it with her white sandals and her long cross necklace to match her scarf.

“Zayn and Liam already started on breakfast,” Niall continues, producing a sucker out of nowhere and tearing off the wrapper. “Liam got up earlier than you usually do. She said she felt like you needed a break, so we’ll probably just have to help set up once we’re down there.”

Harry rolls her eyes but she’s smiling as takes one last glance in her floor-length mirror. She looks pretty, if she does say so herself, and she turns back to Niall. “Well come on then, I wanna make sure Liam didn’t burn the kitchen down.”

She grabs her phone, seeing it’s fifteen till nine which is when the girls rushing will be here, and so she locks her bedroom door behind her and Niall. It’s a precaution all the seniors living in the house take during rush week after what happened a few years back. Harry wasn’t here for it, but one of the girls rushing had apparently snuck away and stole jewelry from multiple of the seniors. It’s a rule now that they all have keys to their room and lock them during rush week.

Liam and Zayn are setting out a full breakfast, pancakes and bacon and sausage and eggs and toast. It smells amazing, Niall already snagging herself a strip of bacon. Harry sighs though, giving them both fond smiles while they get out plates and silverware.

“What are you forgetting?” she asks, pulling out the mixed fruit she chopped up yesterday morning. There’s still enough to last this morning, but she gets some of the whole fruits out too, snagging an orange for herself. “See,” she continues, “This is why  _ I _ do breakfast and you two do dinner. We can’t just live off of junk food every meal - ”

“Oh shut up,” Zayn cuts in fondly, but they pluck out a blueberry from the fruit salad, skipping out of the way when Harry shoos their hand out of the bowl.

“You should be grateful we helped anyway,” Liam says. She’s pulling out the orange juice and milk, sending Harry a pointed look. “You didn’t even know we were helping and the girls will be here in less than five minutes. What would you have done then?”

Harry shrugs. She would have figured something out like she always does. “Thank you for helping, both of you,” she says genuinely, pointedly looking at both Liam and Zayn while she puts her kettle on the stove.

Harry’s the only one in the house that drinks tea, has to have it every morning. But that’s how she grew up. She thinks back to waking up every morning with her mum and sister, in Holmes Chapel, and hating the bitter taste of her mum’s English Breakfast but soon growing to like it, and now she can’t go a day without it. It’s almost like a tribute to home, reminds her that even though she’s five thousand miles away, she’s still British through and through and will do anything she can to remember that.

Sometimes it makes her nostalgic, knowing that she is so far away from home. The thirteen hour flight and cost means she only goes home during the summer - hopefully during Christmas break this winter as well - and she misses her family very much.

Of course she has a wonderful family here in the States as well; Niall, Liam, and Zayn will always be her mates. Their families have all taken turns letting her stay with them during the breaks, and she will love them endlessly for the rest of her life.

So even though she gets teased all the time about being the only person in the sorority that drinks tea, mainly by Niall, it’s still her morning ritual.

By the time the kettle whistles, a bunch of loud voices can be heard from the corridor, and Harry smiles while pouring the hot water in her mug. Perrie, another senior living in the house and the President, raises her voice loud enough to silence the tittering freshman and sophomores, and they come rushing into the large kitchen.

Harry turns, sipping her tea. She recognizes all of the girls now that the group is dwindling down more into rush week, only about twenty left. She could name probably half of them, and she smiles and waves her fingers in their direction while Perrie tells them that breakfast is a little different than it has been all week.

There’s a new face Harry doesn’t remember - not with those  _ cheekbones _ and bright  _ blue eyes _ , Harry would’ve remembered those -  and she takes a second to look the new girl over while they’re all squeezing around each other to get their plates. She’s a tad shorter than Harry, but she looks about the same age, sandy hair falling around her shoulders and framing her face perfectly.

Harry can’t tear her eyes away, gazing over the top of her mug, taking in the black leggings hugging her form perfectly, paired with a white, loose scoop tank. She’s wearing a hot pink bra that compliments her breasts perfectly, and when Harry drags her eyes back up, the girl is smiling a wide, toothy smile that makes Harry’s tummy flip.

It’s when those blue eyes gaze over the rest of the large kitchen that Harry points her gaze back down to her tea, half turning away. She sneaks a glance though, and the girl is staring at the drinks in disdain.

“Y’don’t happen to have any tea, would you?” she asks Liam who’s standing near her, and -

And, “Is that a northern accent I hear?” Harry blurts out, stepping closer to blue eyes and Liam. Liam looks surprised too, mouth open like she was about to respond, but she nods at Harry and turns back to the other girls.

“Oi, fellow Englander!” the girl crows. Her eyes are bright and so, so beautiful, and Harry bites her lip. “Please tell me you’ve got tea on hand, I can’t drink anything else in the morning.”

Harry is pleasantly charmed and she’s barely said a sentence to the girl. “Mhm,” she answers, turning back to pull out another mug and her box of teabags. “Not sure what you like, but I’ve got a few different kinds in here. There’s water in the kettle there too. I’m Harry by the way.”

“Louis,” the girls replies, and she’s smiling so beautifully up at Harry, beaming. “Louis Tomlinson. And thank you. Anything’s better than nothing, yeah? I prefer Yorkshire, since I’m from there and all. Doncaster specifically. What about you?”

“Harry Styles. And Holmes Chapel, born and raised. Sorry, I seem to be all out of Yorkshire,” Harry says as she watches Louis shrugs and pours herself a cuppa. No sugar or milk, just black tea. Harry admires her for being able to stomach that. She also admires her for being so beautiful, but she won’t admit that out loud.

“Well then Harry from Holmes Chapel,” Louis says, finishing her tea and holding it and her plate in each hand. “Fancy sitting next to me? I really don’t know how this whole sorority breakfast thing works, or the whole sorority thing in general to be honest.”

“I would love to, come on.” Harry takes her own cuppa and orange and leads the way to the dining room, sitting in her usual spot. Louis takes the seat next to her, the rest of the girls slowly filing in and sitting here and there.

Harry’s met a couple other people from home, but they all leave after just a semester, transferring to a different school or going home after a study abroad trip. Not only is Louis British, but she’s also hot, and she’s interested in Harry’s sorority, and Harry refuses to screw this up. Putting on her biggest smile and turning to face Louis, Harry decides she’s intent on impressing Louis enough for her to stay.

“So Louis,” she starts, Louis’ eyebrows shooting up, a bite halfway to her mouth. Harry snorts, covering her mouth. “Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt. I was just gonna ask a few questions is all.”

And this is normal, the seniors having one-on-one conversations with certain girls that they think would fit perfectly in their club. Harry has already spoken with a few other girls since monday, and she’s already got her eyes on a few that she likes. So she doesn’t know why she feels a little differently talking to Louis. It’s the same as the other girls. Why is her stomach doing That Thing?

“Ask away then. I’ve got a few myself,” Louis murmurs around a bite. Harry would find it disgusting if she wasn’t so charmed and fascinated by this girl with blue eyes and an amazing arse.

“Alright everybody!” Perrie yells once everybody is settled, cutting Harry off. “As soon as breakfast is over you’re all free to roam the house and backyard until ten. Then there’s going to be a sort of relay race and lunch after with our brother club, Alpha Nu Lambda. Those boys are very respectful and enjoyable to be around, so you don’t have to worry about them being gross. That is why they’re our brother club. And since we’re on the topic,” Perrie is quick to add, loud over the quiet murmuring that had started around the table. “Please steer clear of Sigma Rho Chi. They’re all rowdy and gross and won’t think twice about the shit that comes out of their mouth.

“We encourage you to not to get close with them. They are all the definition of Fuck Boys, and will literally seduce and use you in any way possible. It’s not against the rules, but as someone who has experience their horrible doings in the past, I will personally tell you that they are not and will never be worth your time.”

Niall starts clapping, her cheeks red and smile bright as Perrie rolls her eyes and sits down. “I’m done now, shut up Ni.”

The girls around the table are all snickering, and within seconds everybody is digging in and chatting away.

Harry looks back at Louis who looks very amused. “Her little story was quite inspirational. Good thing I don’t swing that way. Those boys can look but the closest they’ll get is a punch to the face if they try anything.”

And - okay, Louis is gay. That’s definitely good to know. Harry decides to out herself as well. “You know, I said something kinda like that when I was rushing this club and one of the seniors gave a similar speech. Minus the whole punching part.”

Louis’ eyes widen for a split second before she’s smiling again, looking smug. “Well then, I hope I can convince you ladies enough to keep me because, young Harry, I can tell we’re going to be great friends.”

Harry laughs, unconsciously leaning closer to Louis. “Is that so? You’ll have to tell me a little more about yourself before I say we’re best friends.”

“Well alright,” Louis agrees, “I’m twenty three, fresh out of London, and I’m looking to spend my last year of school in a completely different country with a bunch of girls. My mother is real proud.” Her eyes are wide, fake serious as she’s nodding, and Harry bites back a giggle. “Technically I’m a senior; this is my last year before I get my degree. We just don’t have this kind of thing - ” Louis waves her hand around at the room, “ - you know, sororities and fraternities back home and I wanted to experience it.”

Harry nods. “I know, yeah. When I first came here when I was eighteen, I always thought it looked so cool, the whole club thing with greek names and having your own houses and all that. I was too scared to get out there during rush week my first year, but then sophomore year rolled around and Niall over there basically forced me to join. And now that I’m a senior I’m living in the house. It’s honestly the best thing that’s happened to me since moving to the States.”

“You live here in the house?” Louis asks, and Harry nods.

“Yeah, most of us senior girls do. Unless we’re married, as seniors we’re supposed to live in the house with the others.  There’s another though, Jesy, but she lives just off campus with her husband Cameron. She’s technically supposed to be here during rush, but she twisted her ankle real bad on Saturday while at the beach so she won’t be back until Friday. Doctor’s orders and all that.”

Harry goes on to explain that they all have their own rooms, how Perrie has her own en suite since she’s the president, and Harry has the other room with her own bathroom as the VP. There are four other bathrooms in the house though, two public on the first floor and in the basement, the other two on the second floor for the other seniors to share. She also mentions that they lock their bedrooms during rush week because of the theft incident.

It’s just the five of them in the house, Harry, Niall, Zayn, Liam, and Perrie, and this year they will be choosing one newcomer to take Jesy’s bedroom now that she’s moved out and all.

Louis asks what it’s like to live in a house full of girls, and Harry gives her honest opinion. She loves these girls; they’re her best friends and family. She’s only been living with them in the sorority house for a week and a half now, had previously been sharing a two bedroom apartment with Niall, Zayn, and Liam, but so far she’s loved living with these girls. Perrie is amazing to be around and she’s nothing but pleasant, and the general atmosphere of living with her best friends is just amazing.

She also tells Louis a bit about what it’s like being the only British person here (“Not anymore, you aren’t!”) and how it took her a little while to adjust to all the different accents and Americanisms here. It wasn’t so bad, she thinks, since she’d already been friends with Niall before being initiated into the sorority. “They all still take the piss for me drinking tea every morning too, so you’d better get used to that.”

Louis’ eyebrows shoot up, clearly amused as she says, “Ah, talking like I’m already in now? I thought you weren’t allowed to reveal anything until the dinner on Friday.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Harry brushes her off easily but she’s smiling, finishing off the last dregs of her tea. “Besides, even if you aren’t initiated, I still expect you to stay in contact. It’s always nice having someone from home around.”

“I understand that, yeah.”

Half the girls around the table have finished so Harry stands, grabbing her mug and orange peels. “Well, since this is your first day, why don’t I show you around the house a bit and you tell me more about yourself, yeah?”

“Sure,” Louis says, following Harry back into the kitchen. Harry washes their mugs real quick, asking Louis about her decision to come to University in California. She learns that Louis had taken two years off to work and save up, helping with her family until her mum remarried and could handle the gaggle of siblings at home. She’d gone to uni in London and would have been able to graduate last year, but she decided to take an extra year to study abroad since she had the time and money for it now.

And now she’s here.

Harry has walked her around the first floor and basement (which is basically just another large living room and game area), and now she’s taking her upstairs to show her the rooms.

When she showed up on Monday, her roommate had insisted that she come with her to another sorority, one right down the street actually, but Louis informs Harry that she didn’t really like the vibes she got from everybody there. “They constantly talked about guys and how to impress them. I swear to you two of the seniors were comparing which skirt would make some guy named Todd drool more. It wasn’t my scene at all, you know?”

Harry nods. He knows exactly which girls and sorority Louis is talking about, as well as which Todd too. “Oh yeah, I know them. They’re great and all, but they’re all about the guys in their brother frat, which happens to be the one Perrie was talking about earlier. They go to every single party looking to hook up. Like, good on them, you know. But I feel much more comfortable here, like I can be myself.”

“Yeah, yeah. I feel the same. Like I’ve been here for an hour and I can already tell nobody will judge me for not wearing socks with my VANS or my preference for vagina,” Louis bluntly says, and Harry barely manages to hold back a cough. She’s very much attracted to Louis, even after knowing her for an hour, and she doesn’t need images in her head right now.

“Trust me, the only thing you will be judged on is your tea in the morning and which Late Night show you prefer.”

“James Corden, duh.”

Smirking, Harry says, “You’ll fit right in then. Niall can rant on and on about how great Jimmy Fallon is, but nobody can top James.”

“And this is why you are now my new best friend,” Louis claims, linking her arm around Harry’s. “Now, who’s bedroom is who’s then?”

“This one Liam’s.” Harry points to the door on their right, and then to the door right across from it, at the top of the stairs. “That one is Zayn’s. These are the bathrooms, and that’s Niall’s room. Perrie’s is at the end there, with the big P painted on it, of course, and this second to last door is mine.” She points to each room as she goes along, keeping her arm through Louis’ and pulling her along.

“What about the last one? Didn’t you say there’s another senior that’s living off campus?”

“Exactly, yes. This was supposed to be Jesy’s room but she lives with her husband. Some years we’ll have less seniors, sometimes more. It just depends on if girls transfer and whatnot.” Louis’ nodding along, following Harry down to the last door, right next to Harry’s. “If we have more then it’s up to last year’s seniors on who lives in the house and who doesn’t. When there’s less though, like this year with Jesy, we’ll pick one of the newcomers that gets initiated and ask if they’d like to live here.”

“That’s really nice of you. You’ll have to choose one this year, yeah?” Harry nods. Louis continues, “Any of those youngsters would be lucky to live in this house will all of you hotties. I bet you’re the type that has weekly girls nights and sits around doing each other’s hair and nails and talking about your crushes.”

Harry genuinely laughs, reaching for the key hidden above the door to unlock the spare room. “Close, yeah. It’s less of the stereotypical sleepover scene, and more of getting drunk and watching dumb TV shows and bonding over literally anything. And whenever we do have nights like that, all the girls in the club are welcome, not just the ones who live in the house. We’ll order a bunch of pizza and chinese and make a proper night out of it.”

“Wow,” replies Louis, and Harry is about to ask if she’s talking about the room or what she just said, but Louis turns back to Harry after looking around. “So, what. Should I start begging now? Because I’d really like to be initiated on Friday and I will beg if I need to.”

“Oh god, Louis, no,” Harry laughs out, shaking her head. “There’s no need to beg, please. You already have a high chance, I promise.”

Louis visibly relaxes, and Harry can’t help herself, eyes dropping to that gorgeous arse as Louis steps further in the room to look around. It’s just as big as Harry’s, the room, with a large window overlooking the backyard and a decent sized closet. Harry bites her lip, looking Louis up and down one more time while Louis is looking elsewhere, before walking back to the door.

“Alrighty then Lou,” she lets the nickname slip, calling Louis back out from the room. “You still need to see the backyard and maybe talk with some other seniors too.”

“Aw, come on Harry, I thought we were having fun?” Louis complains. She’s smiling though, and she follows Harry back into the hallway easily enough. “Niall’s the other blonde, right? The ones with big tits?”

That startles a laugh out of Harry, and she nods, walking Louis back downstairs and through the house to the back. “Yes, that’s her. And she’s very proud of her large tits as well, so if you’re thinking about chatting her up make sure you give them plenty of compliments.”

“Not planning on chatting her up, was just gonna take your advice and talk to some other seniors, yeah? Besides, she’s not my type anyway.”

Harry briefly wonders what Louis’ type is, but she pushes that thought away, pointing over to where Niall and standing with Liam and Zayn and a couple other new girls. “She’s by Liam and Zayn are both over there on the other side of the pool. You’ll want to impress them the most. Perrie is easy to win over, but I know Zayn will be skeptical of you all until you’ve specifically proven otherwise.” Harry gauges Louis’ reaction while adding, “Also Zayn prefers they and them pronouns so please be respectful of that.”

She barely bats an eye, her grin growing even wider somehow. “Got it. So flirt graciously with Niall’s boobs and prove to Zayn that I’m an amazing, most-worthy woman.” Louis nods, but before she turns to leave, she adds, “Thank you for sticking with me this morning and showing me around. I really feel welcome here, and not only because you’re abundance of tea.”

Harry’s stomach does that thing again, and she knows she’s blushing but she can’t help it. Louis is just - she is amazing, and Harry already likes her like crazy. “Of course Lou. My tea is your tea, yeah?”

Nodding, Louis smiles that dazzling smile again, and she waves cutely before walking away in Niall and Zayn’s direction. Harry does not stare at her swaying hips and beautiful arse and thighs as she’s walking away.

She simply bites her lip and turns around, going back inside to find some more girls to chat with until they’ll all be rounded up to leave in fifteen minutes.

 

The relay is amazing. The Omega Phi sophomore and junior girls in show up right before it starts, so the group is even bigger. All the girls in Harry’s sorority and all the boys from their brother club mesh well, and they all break off into teams, listening while Perrie and Alpha Nu’s president Nick explain the rules. Harry was able to snag Louis for her team, as well as Niall and another girl named Molly, and they’re all laughing together by the end of the first interval.

It lasts almost two hours, the different teams interacting and racing and going through the obstacles around the Alpha Nu’s house. There’s only a couple girls that seem to have lost interest, happy when Harry finally announces the two winning teams and that Liam and Perrie snuck away to set up lunch for both clubs in Omega Phi’s backyard. Harry never really had a chance to speak with either of them, and now that he thinks about it, they didn’t seem to interactive in any of the activities. If they haven’t stopped coming by Friday, Harry knows they probably won’t be initiated.

Lunch is an easy affair; both clubs dig in, finding places throughout Omega Phi’s large backyard to chill and eat, and Harry smiles at the swarm of people outside. Her eyes catch over Louis who must be telling a hilarious story to some of the junior girls and boys, since they’re all laughing, and Harry bites the inside of her cheek as she turns back into the kitchen.

The seniors from both clubs have gathered, the last one to show up being Nick. Every year during rush week, the two clubs will have some sort of event and meal together on Wednesdays, and the seniors will take some time away to chat with each other about the new people. It’s nice, having outside opinions on the girls, and it’s also nice being able to give their brother club their own opinions on the new boys.

When Harry steps back to the island, Niall and Zayn are talking to Ed, Alpha Nu’s vice president, and the rest of the group is intently listening. Perrie even has Jesy on Facetime, which Harry thinks is cute.

“...I don’t care if her mommy and daddy offer to refinish the whole house, even yours,” Niall finally exclaims, and Harry tunes in to the conversation. Niall has gone red, looking angry, and Harry’s eyebrows raise. Niall is never angry. “I can see how fucking hot she is Ed, and I’m straight as a bat. And yes, I know she’s rich as fuck. But she is homophobic and very judgemental and I didn’t like her from the start.”

“She’s right,” Zayn cuts in, nodding. “She saw me with Liam and gave us the dirtiest look.”

Ed looks horrified, as well as the rest of the group, and Harry shakes her head to herself, about to ask who they’re talking about when Perrie chimes in. “Brenda - ” Ah, yes, Brenda. Harry had noticed her, how pretty she is, but she hadn’t had the chance to talk with her yet. “ - pulled me aside this morning because she wanted to talk with me one-on-one about how all us seniors dress. She said she had a whole extra outfit in her purse for Harry here because, and I quote,  _ she looks hideous in that romper _ .”

“What the fuck,” Harry mutters. She self consciously smooths out the front of her romper, looking down at herself to make sure she looks alright.

“You look fine babe,” Nick says from her right, smoothing his hand over her shoulder. “I’d even go as far to say sexy, and that’s coming from a gay man. Brenda is just a bitch.”

Everybody around the kitchen is nodding along, and Harry smiles. “Thanks,” she says to Nick, leaning into his touch, and then to the rest of the room, “So Brenda is automatically out, yes?”

“Yes!” multiple people around the room say.

Harry feels at ease now as Ed brings up a couple of the freshman guys, letting Nick pull her into his side, arm around her shoulders. They’ve always been close, ever since Harry was rushing Omega Phi her sophomore year and had met him during the club event that Wednesday. They bonded over the fact that they’re both gay, and have been friends ever since. People have mistaken them as a couple before, though neither of them mind one bit.

Before long Harry notices that it’s almost two, and a few of the girls have already interrupted them on accident. Thankfully, Perrie claps her hands together and announces they should probably head back outside and make sure nobody is fucking in the pool yet. Everybody around the room laughs as they head outside.

As soon as the door opens and they start filing outside, someone shouts, “Finally!”

“Thought you were having a giant orgy in there!” a junior, Ian, from Alpha Nu yells, and everybody erupts into laughs.

“Ian!” Nick scolds at him, though Nick is smiling too, clearly amused. He starts yelling, “Alright boys, that’s enough mingling for today. Head back across the street now. We’ve got plenty more to do!”

While the Alpha Nu boys slowly file out of the backyard, Harry and Liam gather up all the girls near the far side of the pool while the other seniors start gathering up the leftover pizza boxes on the table they set up.

“Quiet down, hush please!” Harry raises her voice, glad that she’s tall enough to see over most the other girls, locking eyes with anybody that’s still whispering.

“Thank you,” Liam cuts in, “Now, we don’t really have much left planned for the day, unlike the last two days, and we figured you could all use the time to relax. You won’t be able to tomorrow or Friday after classes.” Some girls groan, and Harry snickers. “You’re welcome to stay around the house if you’d like, go swimming, go out. Do whatever, basically, but we expect you to be back for dinner at six. Sound good?”

All the freshman near the front are murmuring and nodding their heads, while the sophomores and juniors have already started walking around or leaving.

“And please,” Harry quickly remembers to add, “If some of you could help pick up around the backyard here? I don’t know if it was you lot or the boys or the combination of both, but it’s kind of a mess.”

“Why should we have to help clean up?” Snobby Brenda (as Harry has decided to call her in her head) pipes up, walking up until she’s standing in front of both Harry and Liam. She looks irritated, black hair falling almost too perfectly around her shoulders. Her arms are crossed in front of her, and Harry holds back a snort.

“Excuse me?” Liam says kindly.

“No, I’m serious. You seniors should be the ones trying to impress us freshman. Why the fuck would you make us clean up after ourselves? Is that how it’s gonna be then? You make all the freshman do all the cleaning around the house for you?”

Harry is taken aback at how rude and bitchy this girl is being, and she’s fuming. “I asked if you could help since you helped make the mess. We aren’t going to force you to clean. It’s a joint effort here.”

“Oh please,” scoffs Brenda, rolling her eyes. “That’s the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard. I’m not cleaning up squat. You and your  _ tranny _ friend here should be cleaning up after me if you really want me to be in your sorority.”

Everybody around the back yard goes silent, eyes now on the three girls facing each other. Harry’s heart is thudding hard in her chest, her hand reaching out to lace with Liam’s next to her. She’s angry, and she hates yelling but nobody messes with Liam like that. Before she can even get a word out though, she’s surprised to see Louis stepping in between Liam and Brenda, finger pointing in her face.

“Listen hun,” her voice drawls, dripping with fierce anger that almost makes Harry shudder. Brenda herself looks scared now, eyes wide and trained on the evil look Louis is giving her. “I would suggest you walk your pissy arse away right now and never come near this house or these girls again. If you honestly think any of them will want you in their club after the way you are treating them, then you can go home and cry to your rich parents and let them pay your way into somewhere else, yeah?”

Brenda looks redder than ever, fish-mouthing but coming up with nothing. Louis is still giving her a pointed look, shoulders held strong, her stance dominant. Next to Harry, Liam is shaking, but when Harry looks up she sees it’s because Liam looks angry. Harry wraps her arm around Liam’s waist, knowing Zayn will be here as soon as Brenda walks away.

Turning her attention back in front of her, Harry sees that Brenda has turned to Perrie, who is now standing there too. “Brenda, please collect all of your belongings and get off of our property. You will not be initiated on Friday, and if I ever catch wind of you throwing horrible words like that against any of my girls again I will give the Dean,  _ my dad _ , a call. Got it?” Perrie finishes, voice sounding firm and final, and Brenda has tears in her eyes as she literally runs away through the side gate and down the sidewalk.

“Liam - ” Harry, Louis, and Perrie all say in unison, turning to her, but Zayn is already there, dragging Liam with them inside and out of sight.

It’s quiet for a few seconds longer before Niall mumbles, “Jesus,” and collective group of sighs are let out around the yard. Some of the freshman and older girls have started picking up the backyard again, and Niall yells out a big thank you to all of those who are helping.

When Harry looks back, Perrie is hugging Louis, whispering a million and one thank yous. “It’s seriously no big deal. She needed to be put in her place,” Louis brushes her off.

“It is though,” Harry says as they pull apart, Perrie waving before running away to do president things. “We’ve always had troubles with girls being rude to Liam. She’s our best friend and we always do our best to keep our little community as judgement-free as possible. I’m sure they’ll both be back for dinner and Liam won’t stop thanking you.”

“I can’t stand people like that and I get fired up.” Louis shrugs again.

Harry rolls her eyes, smiling. “Just don’t brush Liam off when she’s thanking you, yeah?”

“‘Course not,” agrees Louis. She brushes some strands of hair out of her face, then takes a step close to Harry. “So, what are you up to until dinner?”

Harry shrugs. She hadn’t really thought that far. After taking a look around to see the yard is cleaned up and the trash has been taken out, she sighs. “I don’t know, honestly. Might take a dip in the pool.”

“Mind if I join? I’ve got a decent argument going on with Niall at the moment about  _ real _ football - ” Harry groans, knowing how Niall is when it comes to that, “ - but she’s already disappeared.”

“Nah, I don’t mind,” Harry answers, trying not to think about Louis in a bathing suit. She smiles, says, “Just gotta put on my suit. I might grab some water too. Want any?”

Louis’ face drops and she groans, and Harry internally freaks. What did she say? “My suit’s back in the dorm,” Louis groans out, rubbing her hands down her face before elaborating, “Smithson Hall.” And.

Oh.

Smithson hall is on the very far edge of campus, nearly a ten minute drive, probably more like thirty minutes if walking. Harry doesn’t want to make Louis go all the way back, and it would be a waste of a drive anyway.

“You can borrow one of mine,” she offers, “Or Niall’s if mine don’t fit.” Her words are only fueling the fire in her stomach, the thoughts of Louis in a suit in her brain flying more and more rapid.

“Really?” Harry nods. “Well thank you love. Show me the way then.” Louis gestures towards the house.

Harry bites her lip, slowly walking back into the house, realizing she’s about to show Louis her room, about to be  _ alone _ with her. She forces herself not to freak out, instead digging out her key as they climb the stairs. She gets the lock on the first try despite her shaking hands, steping aside to let Louis in after pushing the door open.

She does  _ not _ stare at Louis’ arse in those leggings, but it’s a close call.

“Make yourself at home then,” she says while shutting the door, and then she goes over to her closet to find her different bathing suits hanging up. She pulls out the three different hangers, taking them to lay them on the bed for Louis to see.

“Do you have your own toilet too?” Louis asks after looking around the room. It’s a little cluttered but clean all the same, and Harry is glad she remembered to pick up her pile of clean knickers off her desk chair last night.

“Yeah, perks of being the VP,” she answers. Louis is standing right next to her now, their shoulders and arms brushing. Her skin is warm, and Harry wants to touch it all over, wants to trace her fingers over the light sheen of sweat covering Louis’ chest, but instead she shakes her head to get rid of those thoughts and gestures to the suits. “Take your pick then. You can use the loo to change if you’d like.”

Louis raises her eyebrow at Harry, clearly about to say something, but she shuts her mouth and smiles, looking down at the bed. Harry watches her look, and she has to bite back a sound when Louis picks up the white suit. It’s a one piece but the sides are cut out, the top and bottom only connected by a strip of material down the middle. The top is like a normal bikini top, strings tying around the neck, and Harry can only imagine how good Louis’ boobs are going to look in it.

“I’ll be right back then,” Louis says before disappearing in the bathroom.

Harry quickly gathers up the remaining suits laying out on the bed, leaving her yellow two piece out. She quickly changes, pulling off the romper and her necklaces. Her yellow suit is her favorite, and she takes a minute to adjust it on her body in the mirror, making sure it’s sitting right and looks good. Quickly as she can, she pulls her hair up into a tight bun, throwing her scarf on her bed.

By the time she’s standing up straight, the bathroom door opens and Louis steps out.

Harry has to tear her eyes away as soon as she looks at Louis. “Well come on then, I’ll grab some towels and water and meet you out there.”

Louis’ eyebrows are furrowed but she follows, and Harry nearly gasps when she sees the way Louis’ tits are nearly falling out of the top. She’s definitely bigger than Harry in that section, falling out on every side, nipples hard and almost visible through the white material. When Harry follows her out, she can’t help herself when she looks at Louis’ arse.

She looks amazing, and Harry bites her tongue at the heat pooling in her belly.  _ Right now is not the time to get turned on _ , she scolds herself in her head, but it’s to no use: she’s already wet and craving Louis’ touch after only half a day.

After locking her bedroom door, Harry quickly grabs two water bottles and towels, then walks out the back door. Louis is already in the pool, hair pulled up, and she’s splashing a freshman who’s sitting on the edge with her feet in the water.

“Come on, you’ve got a suit on, why’re you just sitting there?” she’s saying, nearly whining, and Harry rolls her eyes.

She comes to sit next to the freshman, Mira is her name, and bumps their shoulders together. “You don’t have to get in the water if you don’t want to,” Harry reassures her, and a second later she feels water being splashed up all over her. “Aye!” she shouts.

Mira is laughing, and so is Harry as she pushes off into the water, chasing Louis around. It’s much harder to catch someone in the water, so Harry settles for splashing her back when she comes close and ducking out of the way when water comes at her. Perrie joins them, as well as some other girls in the club that Harry has missed seeing over the summer.

At some point, someone drags out the water guns they keep stashed in the small pool house, making it a full on pool fight. Harry guesses it’s Niall, since she has the biggest gun of them all, and she runs over where Niall is hiding behind the pool house.

“Ni! Please tell me you saved one for me!”

“Of course.” Niall produces another water gun out of nowhere, and Harry gladly takes it, planting a kiss on Niall’s nose.

“You’re the best. Teams?”

“Of course,” scoffs Niall, and they wait two seconds before running back out of cover.

It looks like almost everybody is here. Perrie is back out in her suit now, sitting at the edge of the pool and kicking her feet, girls from all grades laughing and running.  It goes on like that, Harry running from other people with guns, chasing after some of the freshman, hiding behind Perrie at one point when a gaggle of sophomores try to gang up on her.

It’s the most fun Harry has had with the club yet, and she doesn’t know how much later it is that she finally starts to feel the heat of the sun burning her skin slightly. The pool fight/party is starting to die down, so Harry finds her water and towel by the pool before going inside. It may have been a good idea to put on some sunscreen before she came outside, she thinks to herself.

As she’s walking up the stairs, she’s startled out of staring at her red arms when she hears her name come from the top of the steps. “Harry, thank god.”

Looking up, Harry sees Louis and feels her breath catch in her throat at the sight - Louis is still in the white bathing suit. She’s soaking wet, her hair dipping down her body and onto the floor, and her tan skin is covered in water droplets. And maybe it might have been a bad idea to let Louis use the white suit because it is a lot more transparent now that it’s wet, her dark, perky nipples visible through the fabric.

Harry quickly walks up the rest of the way, focusing on keeping her eyes locked with Louis’ rather than any lower. “Hey Lou, what’s up?” Even she can hear how airy her voice is now, and she mentally scolds herself after seeing one of Louis’ eyebrows raising, lips curving up into a knowing smirk.

“Someone took my towel that you got me,” Louis says, leaning closer, and Harry quickly averts her eyes. “And my hair came out of the tie so it’s soaked now.”

“I can grab you a new one. You can use my shower too, if you’d like,” Harry offers without thinking, turning to lead Louis down the hall to her room.

“You sure? I can just go back to the dorm…”

Harry shakes her head while she unlocks her room, stepping aside to let Louis in. “Nah, it’s cool. There’s extra towels folded on the shelf in there.” It’s after Louis has passed into the bedroom, Harry’s eyes dropping to her arse - the bottom of the suit hugs her so much better now that it’s wet, Harry feels her mouth go dry - that Harry realizes what she just did.

Louis is walking into the bathroom, throwing a quick thank you and a wink over her shoulder, and Harry feels her knees wobble. She just let Louis use her shower and she hasn’t even known the girl for a full day yet. Normally she would open one of the communal bathrooms up here, but it had fallen out of her mouth before she could think about it. There’s no turning back now.

She quickly strips her own suit off, toweling down her body to dry it, and pulls on the same romper and necklaces from before. It’s barely ten minutes later that the door opens again and out comes Louis, dressed in her own clothes from before. Her hair is back up, and Harry gets up from where she was resting against her headboard playing on her phone.

Louis looks just as beautiful. Harry’s mouth feels dry.

“You really do take the locking your rooms thing seriously huh?” Louis asks once they’re back out in the hall and Harry is digging her key out from her pocket. There’s an amused tone in her voice though, and Harry shrugs, following Louis back down the stairs.

“Yeah. I don’t have anything to valuable to be stolen, but I still don’t wanna take that risk, you know?” Louis hums, seeming to understand. Harry’s phone buzzes in her pocket, and she sees it’s a text from Niall telling her to come to Liam’s room. “Well Lou,” she says, pocketing her phone and turning around. “I’m being summoned. I’ll see you tonight at dinner, yeah?”

“‘Course,” Louis responds, her dazzling smile back on. It’s infectious and Harry smiles too. “I can just lounge around, yeah? Maybe meet some other people too?”

Harry nods. “Go right ahead,” she says, and she bites her lip when Louis winks and walks away.

She takes a moment to breath, hating how affected she already is even though she just met Louis, then goes back upstairs.

Not bothering to knock, Harry slips inside Liam’s room to see Zayn and Niall cuddled on either side of said girl, and Harry coos. All three of them look up, and Liam’s eyes go wide when she realizes what Harry is about to do.

She runs and lands on top of all three of them, wrapping her arms around Liam and burying her face in her soft, brown tufts of hair. Liam smells like Zayn’s expensive shampoo, and Harry nuzzles in close. Niall has been her best friend for four years now, but Liam and Zayn will always be just as close to her heart. She loves these people like crazy.

Liam fake gasps in air, and Harry rolls her eyes. “Shut up you,” she says, not letting herself be pushed away. “You love my cuddles and you know it.”

They all know that Liam was assigned the wrong gender at birth. Her parents had kicked her out when she was still in high school, but her Aunt and Uncle took her in, loved and cared for her, and she made a smooth transition throughout the summer between high school and college and on into her freshman year as well. Harry remembers seeing her around campus, not really getting to know Liam or Zayn until her sophomore year. She’s always loved Liam for who she is, even if she is built a little more broad than what is considered normal.

“Yeah, yeah,” Liam finally concedes, relaxing into the comfort of her three best friends around her.

“I was just telling these two that Perrie already contacted the girl’s dad and turned down his offer. Apparently he was shocked when she told him what happened and apologized, like, a lot for it,” Niall finishes.

Zayn doesn’t seem to be able to help themself any longer, an angry frown on their face. “Li, I love you to the moon and back and you know I hate violence,” they start, “but if I ever see her bitch face around you again I won’t hesitate to punch it in.”

“Zayn’s right,” Harry agrees, knocking her elbow against Zayn’s knee. “If Louis hadn’t gone off on her, I would’ve.”

Liam’s eyes are full of love, but they widen at the mention of Louis’ name. “Um, I don’t know about the rest of you, but Louis is one hundred percent being initiated.”

“Oh yeah,” Niall agrees instantly, “We need more people like her. Especially if she’s gonna stick up for you like that without even knowing you.”

“And don’t think I didn’t notice how much you’ve been talking to her Harry,” Zayn chimes in.

Harry feels her cheeks warm up but she shrugs. She’s long past being embarrassed around her friends about her love life. After all three of them walked in on a freshman eating her out last year, Harry stumbling out a few minutes later to apologize, she came to the realization that they’re her best mates no matter what. They know she what she likes and if they were going to judge her for it they would have by now.

(Plus that may have started her slight exhibitionist kink, but that’s neither here nor there.)

The point is, Harry is used to them teasing her whenever she’s taken interest in someone.

“Did you lot know she’s actually a senior? Worked for two years before starting back in school.” She doesn’t comment on what Zayn said right away, instead tickling the side of Liam’s feet that are resting in her lap and letting Liam kick her to the end of the bed. Then she admits, “Can’t help if I’ve taken to her so well. She’s hot, and she’s from  _ home _ . A familiar accent is comforting.”

She’s reminded of the fact that she probably won’t be going home until the summer and her heart clenches at the thought. She’ll be graduating this year, and her family is saving up so they can come to California to see her walk across the stage. Money isn’t exactly a hardship for Harry’s family, but she’s not going to cost them anymore than she already has to.

“I’m only teasing and you know this,” Zayn says, their eyes looking almost sad now.

Harry shrugs, forcing those thoughts away and look between the three of them. “Me liking the idea of her tits in my face isn’t the only reason I want to keep her around though. I spoke with her a lot today and she really is a great person. She’s loud and - ”

Liam’s bedroom door opens, Perrie shutting it behind her and stomping right over to the bed. “Who said you could have a meeting without me?” she crows, shoving Harry over to make room for herself. “I got Sabrina and Kadee to watch around the house a bit for us.”

Harry accommodates, Liam’s feet falling into Perrie’s lap instead. She smiles sweetly at the girl across from her, massaging the soft feet in her lap. “Hey love, you alright?”

“I am now, yeah,” Liam answers.

Harry really is glad they all have each other.

“Good. Now.” Perrie looks at Harry, her toothy grin coming out. “Who’s loud then?”

“Oh, we were just talking about Louis,” Niall answers for Harry, “We’ve already decided it’d be good to initiate her.”

Even though Perrie is the president and should ultimately be making these decisions, the four of them already know that she’s on board. She’d be crazy not to be, Harry thinks. She wants what’s best for their club just like the rest of them.

“Oh yeah, of course. Not even a question. Although,” she pauses to look at all four of them, “I was going to ask how you all would feel about asking if she wants to take the empty room up here? I explained what happened to Jesy and how much I know about Louis in general, and she’s on board with the idea.”

Liam rolls her eyes but she’s smiling as she says, “Jesy doesn’t even live here, she doesn’t get a say in who takes the empty room. I do like that idea though. I wouldn’t mind that loud mouth of her’s around to scare away all the transphobes.”

Niall and Zayn both chime in with their consents, and Harry nods excitedly when Perrie looks at her.

“Well then it’s decided!” Perrie does a little excited dance, Harry smiling wide, before the pink haired girl goes mostly serious once more. “For the most part, anyway. We just met her today so we should probably keep an open mind until Friday night comes. And we should probably keep an eye out for other candidates if Louis turns the offer down.”

“She’d be crazy to, we’re too sexy to turn down!” Niall exclaims, and Harry laughs with the rest of them.

She’s happy here, sitting in bed with her four best friends. She only has one more year to finish out - one year of easy classes, community work with the underclassmen of the club, and living with the best people ever.

Even though it’s barely half way through her second week, Harry can tell this year is going to be a good year.

 


	2. Initiation Day/Moving In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **it's only been since august of last year ahahhahh oops**
> 
> hello! idk who is still reading this but - finally - here's another update! again, special thank you to my beta/love of my life bonnie<3<3
> 
> enjoy!

 

By Friday, everybody is pleasantly charmed by Louis.

All through Thursday they were taking turns talking with her. Niall even said that she mentioned the spare room, trying to hype it up so Louis would want it. She continued to look just a beautiful as ever, and she made Harry blush countless times through the day whenever Louis was around her. They all agreed again Thursday night that Perrie should ask her at the banquet the next evening.

Harry is more than excited when she wakes up Friday morning. Friday of rush week has always been frantic and sometimes stressful - they’ve got to get back from their classes in time to help prepare the food, although this year Jesy’s parents offered to pay for a local restaurant to cater for the event, and they have to decorate and make sure everything is in tiptop shape for when people start to arrive later.

They only have an early breakfast with the girls. It’s a quiet affair. Only half of the amount that usually shows up is there, and after Harry asks quietly where they’re all at, the ones who did show up mumbled about getting hair and nails done and whatnot.

“It’s not prom,” Niall leans over on her left side to whisper in Harry’s ear, who giggles.

On her left, Louis looks up from her toast and tea, eyebrow raised in question, and Harry shakes her head. It really isn’t that big of a deal, in her opinion. Yes, it’s supposed to be formal, but Harry and probably the rest of the sorority could care less how fancy you dress up. Omega Phi lambda is about family and support and love, not trying to outdress the next person.

Once everything is cleaned up, Harry putting the last dish in the dishwasher, she realizes she needs to leave in twenty minutes to get to her first class. Louis is still there though, and Harry starts after turning to see the blue-eyed girl standing in the doorway.

“Fuck Lou.” She clutches a hand over her heart, Louis chuckling. “You can’t just sneak up on me like that.”

“You scare easily then?” Louis is squinting through a smug smile like she’s trying to categorize that information away, and Harry rolls her eyes as she walks around the shorter girl.

“Sometimes, yeah,” she admits truthfully. Harry’s reminded of the time her sister Gemma followed her home from a late night rendezvous to McDonald’s with her girlfriend at the time. It was the summer before she moved to the States, and she nearly peed herself when Gemma tackled her to the grass in their front garden

She doesn’t realize that she’s saying this out loud on the way up to her room until they’re both inside and she turns around, confused.

“I guess I’d pee myself too if someone followed me home and tackled me that late at night like that,” Louis says, and Harry’s eyes go wide and she laughs.

Harry would rather not kick Louis out, but she has her own things to do. “Sorry, didn’t realize I was thinking out loud. Don’t you have class to be going to as well?”

“Not until ten. I’ve got an easy workload right now.” Louis falls back on Harry’s bed, legs spread out in front of her, and Harry pulls her eyes from the smooth, tan skin. She scolds herself in her head for wanting to kiss those perfect thighs, and forces herself to focus on getting real clothes on.

She chooses a light dress, hoping it’ll help her to not sweat too much in the heat outside. Today is supposed to be the hottest day of the week, and Harry would rather not have to come back and shower for longer than necessary just because is tacky and gross from the humid outside.

“So,” Harry says after turning back, “You’re just gonna hang around until then? Probably have to kick you out since the house will be empty.” She has to force back a smile after remembering that this will be Louis’ house to by the end of the night.

“If that’s cool with you.” Louis shrugs, the sleeves of her vest shifting to show her black bra straps.

“Sure.” Harry bites her lip and walks into her bathroom to change. She doesn’t need thoughts of Louis, with her beautifully tanned skin, in black underwear. She fluffs out her hair a little and applies a coat of mascara, then finds her sandals that she’d left by the tub last night. “I’m leaving, like, now though. Sorry you couldn’t stay longer.”

Louis shrugs as she gets up, and Harry a twitch of something in her eyes, but it’s only there for a second. She’s not even sure if it was there at all or if she’s imagining it, but as she grabs her bag from her desk, back turned to Louis, she shifts her dress a bit at the front in hopes that it’ll show off her chest more.

It does nothing but make Harry’s stomach flop when she turns back and Louis’ eyes go right to her tits, and Harry suppresses a giggle when Louis looks back up with flushed cheeks at being caught.

“Come on then.” She sounds exasperated, and Harry takes pride in making Louis sound like that as she follows her out. “I’ll walk with you. Probably just sit around somewhere for an hour.”

Harry is the last one in the house so she makes sure all the doors are locked before meeting Louis outside, falling into step with her on the sidewalk. “So Louis,” Harry starts, knocking their elbows together. “What are you studying?”

“Well I’ve always wanted to produce music but that dream is a bit far fetched so I’m settling for music teacher. I guess here you would say I’m majoring in education and minoring in music?”

Harry nods. “Yeah, that’s how you say it. It confused the hell out of me too at first but you’ll catch on pretty quickly. Maybe you’ll be discovered by some undercover producer while teaching and make it big some day!”

Louis scoffs like that’s the dumbest thing she’s ever heard. It makes the tips of Harry’s ears go red, but Louis is smiling all the same. “I don’t know what a famous producer would be doing  _ here _ , of all places, but if that ever happens I’ll dedicate all my songs to you for being so supportive.”

Harry blushes, and she bats her eyelashes a little. Her insides feel like goo. “Just being nice is all,” she says, and they’re in front of the building her class is in so she stops, turning to face Louis.

“What about you then?” Louis asks, brushing the hair out of her face and peering up at Harry with her clear blue eyes. They look amazing in the sunlight, and Harry blinks for a moment before remembering she was asked a question.

“Oh! Um, I really want to open my own bakery. Like, I’d like to do it back home, but it’d be easier for me to do it here since this is where I’m getting my degree. So I’m majoring in business for that and minoring in Home Ec so I can take all the baking classes,” Harry finishes lamely. She shuffles from one foot to the other, hoping it’s not as lame as it sounds.

Louis is gaping though, like full-on surprised, her eyebrows up to her forehead, and Harry hears herself let out a giggle. She doesn’t think she’s ever giggled or laughed this much with anybody else. (Besides maybe Niall but that’s  _ Niall _ ).

“My birthday is in December,” Louis eventually says. She’s wearing a big, proud smile. “You’re baking me all the cupcakes. With extra icing!”

“Extra icing, got it,” Harry plays along. It puts an image in her head though: dancing around the kitchen while whisking the batter, eyeing Louis out of the corner of her eye as Louis slowly adds food dye drops to the different bowls of icing, Michael Buble crooning through the speaker. Harry has to mentally punch herself. She’s barely known Louis three days now; she can’t already be thinking things like that. “I should probably get inside though. Thank you for walking me.”

Louis pouts. It’s the most adorable thing Harry has ever seen, and luckily she’s able to hold herself back from cooing just as Louis says, “Well Harry, I’ve got just enough time to snag me some tea from the campus shop real quick. If this is how every day is going to be - ”

“I’ve only got this class Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays,” Harry quietly cuts in.

“ - then I will gladly walk continue to walk you. I’ll just have to leave the dorm a little early on these days.” Her eyes look contemplative for a moment, and Harry imagines Louis is routing out her walk on these days.

It takes all of her willpower to not blurt out that it’s useless for Louis, since she’ll be moving into the house over the weekend. Hopefully. She doesn’t though, only grinning wildly, then even bigger when Louis raises an eyebrow at her. “Don’t get the earl grey,” Harry whispers, sliding closer momently. “Get English brekkie.” At Louis’ twisted face, Harry adds, “Trust me. I’ve been drinking it for four years now. Their grey is horrid.”

“If you’re taking the piss Harry I swear to god…”

Harry smiles and shrugs. “Learn your own way then,” she chirps before turning away and running up the few steps to the building. Harry glances over her shoulder quickly, her breath quickening at the sight of Louis in the same spot, staring back up at her.

She hears Louis mutter the words ‘cute’ and ‘arse’, and Harry shakes her head as she slips inside.

 

Harry’s classes go easy, and she even manages to get out of her last one early so she gets back to the house at a reasonable time for lunch. Niall is already there, finishing off her first sandwich and picking up the second as Harry walks in.

“Hey Ni,” she greets, striding to the fridge and pulling out the ingredients for a smoothie.

“Hi, babe. How were classes? Didja make anything good today? Any homework?” Her eyebrows wiggle.

Harry rolls her eyes, pointing the yogurt covered spoon at the blonde. “Even if I did you’d get none.” Then, “Nah. Prof Smith knew about all the different clubs initiating tonight. He said, and I quote, ‘Too many of you smashed off your asses this weekend’.”

“He’s right though,” Niall agrees, already finishing off her second sandwich.

“He is, yeah. But I have the syllabus for this semester so I know what we’ll be making and when.” Niall’s eyes widen, and she nearly jumps across the island.

“I am going to find that and I will torture you on the days you don’t bring me home good shit.”

She’s serious, Harry can tell, but she’s known Niall long enough that while it very much is a threat, it’s also a loving one at that. “When have I not brought leftovers home?” Harry replies. “Now come on, you’re doing my toenails. I’ll braid your hair.”

Niall perks up, following Harry upstairs, a bag of ships in one hand and the other half of the smoothie Harry made in the other.

Harry already knows what she’s wearing tonight, a pale lilac summer dress that makes her tits pop the tiniest bit and looks great against her skin. It matches her lilac jumper, and if it wasn’t still summer heat in California, she’d drag that out to wear with it.

As it is, Harry pulls out the dress and hangs it from her closet door, kicking out her white sandals as well. Niall comes back out of the bathroom with the little baggies of rubber bands and settles on the bed, in position, waiting for Harry.

It’s something they do every initiation night or party night or anything of the sort. Harry will sit leaning against the headboard, her legs around Niall in front of her, feet in her lap. While Niall is cutting and filling and painting Harry’s toenails, Harry will braid one side of Niall’s hair back in tiny plaits. It started because they were almost late to a double date their first year, and had to rush to get ready together, and they’ve been doing it ever since. Sometimes they’ll switch, but Harry has always had a nervous hand while doing toes, and it’s not often that she wants others to do her hair.

Harry enjoys this time with Niall. They’ll have deep conversations or talk about the most random shit. And if Niall brings up a girl, which she always does, Harry can tug on her hair slightly in retaliation.

This time, it’s Louis that she brings up, her sharp little nails digging into the side of Harry’s foot when Harry doesn’t respond.

“Come on H,” she whines, “Spill. I know you have the hots for her. We can all see it.”

Harry blushes furiously, thankful that Niall is facing away. No girl has ever made Harry blush and her stomach flutter like this just from thinking and talking about her. She doesn’t hesitate in pulling on a couple strands of hair, making Niall squeal jerk her head. “Be still you,” Harry quips, “It’s nothing, alright? I like her a lot because, well, you saw how she was Wednesday and she just met Liam. And she’s from home, you know? It’s nice having someone I can relate to a little better.”

“Yeah yeah, she’s nice and funny and blah blah.  _ Whatever _ . You want to bone her. That much I can tell. And for as straight as I am, I would too. She’s got an amazing arse. You should go for it.”

And the thing is, Harry wants to. She wants to flirt with Louis and blow her kisses and pinch her bum as she’s walking away. And she certainly wouldn’t mind boning her, as Niall put it. The thing is though, if Louis does accept the offer and moves into the house with the rest of them, what will happen then? Will they keep fucking? Will it be too awkward after, and then they barely acknowledge each other? Harry doesn’t think she could fuck Louis and then live with her, just on the fear alone that Louis would end up hating Harry.

“Why the fuck would she hate you?”

Scolding herself for thinking out loud again, Harry finishes off a braid, mouth shut tight as she starts the last one and thinks. Louis doesn’t seem like the type of girl who fucks once and that’s all she needs. Harry doesn’t think she’d run away after. But that’s only if Louis is into her. What if she turns Harry down? She might try to stay away from Harry, knowing that Harry wants in her pants.

And Harry knows she unconsciously turns on her creepy lust eyes around girls that she fancies. They’ve ran away from her before because of it. She’s never offended by it, but Harry doesn’t want Louis to run away. Louis will be good here in the house with them. Everybody will love having her around, and Harry doesn’t want to be the one to fuck that up.

“Maybe not hate me,” Harry says eventually, still pulling at Niall’s blonde hair to make sure the plaits will be tight. “But things could get awkward after - ”

“Only if you make it awkward.”

“ - and I don’t want to have to tiptoe around my own house just because I fucked her and she didn’t like it… Or something.”

Niall waits until Harry’s done with the last braid, snapping the tiny band around the end, before turning around in her spot so they’re facing each other. “Toes are done. Anyway. Harry you think way too much. If anything like that happens I will sit both of you down and force you not to be awkward. She’s gonna live with us and she’s gonna have to be a-okay with everybody in the house. Plus, I’d rather not be living with you while you’re sex deprived because the only girl you wanna bang lives right across the hall and you can’t have her.”

Harry sighs but she’s smiling. Niall has a way with words that makes her sound like she’s in high school again while also being very right. “It’s not like I’ll go celibate just because I can’t have her. I’m sure Perrie wouldn’t mind picking up our little arrangement we had last year.”

Niall huffs. “I don’t believe you for a second. You’re going to keep pining over Louis until either she does something about it or I do. I know exactly how you work Harry.” Harry frowns at her, a little hurt, but Niall barrels on, “It’s not a bad thing babe. You know this. I’m just saying I think you should at least try. The worst she could do is say no, right? Just shove your tits in her face tonight or something. That always seems to work for other girls.”

Harry knows Niall is right, at least to an extent. But if things with Louis do go downhill, that could mean living with her and always wanting her but being ignored. The whole rest of the house will have to live with both of them ignoring each other. That would be horrible all around and Harry couldn’t cause something like that.

She ultimately decides against it, at least for tonight. Harry plans on drinking some at the party their brother frat is throwing, and she’d rather not come on to Louis while drunk. Maybe next week after Louis is moved and settled in.

“I don’t know Ni. If I’d met her at a party or something maybe. But this situation is a lot different and I don’t want to fuck everything up.” And Niall knows, she does, to leave it be at that. Harry is thankful for her.

“Alright love,” Niall sighs out. She gets off the bed, hand stretched out for Harry to take, and says, “Come on. Makeup time. I left my good mascara in Zayn’s bathroom.”

Harry follows easily. If Zayn is in there, Harry will force them to do her make up for tonight.

 

After getting all “dolled-up”, Niall’s exact words, Harry goes back to her room to slip her dress and sandals on quickly, taking one last glance in the mirror before there’s a ring at the doorbell. She’s the first to the door, and the catering for dinner has shown up so Harry shows them to the backyard where the dinner will be set up. Perrie must have gathered some underclassmen to help set up the backyard. It looks beautiful, and Harry does the smallest happy dance, more excited for tonight than she’d thought.

It’s not soon after that the rest of the girls and Zayn are downstairs, the underclassmen slowly showing up in groups. Harry has always helped organize their parties and dinners; it’s something that she loves doing, standing near the back of the house, watching out over the crowd of people. Some of the freshmen have started showing up too, their friends or even family in tow, and it’s not long after that the backyard is full.

Harry loves this, loves seeing all these people laughing and happy and getting ready for tonight. She loves having dinners, and she loves the idea of initiating new girls into their club, welcoming new friends and sisters. It’s thrilling, in a way, knowing that she’s helping make these girls’ college experience that much better.

Harry remembers when she heard her name called out, her sophomore year, and how she nearly jumped, eyes immediately seeking out Niall. Niall looked ecstatic as well. Being initiated into a new family was all it took for Harry to fall in love with this house and these people. She’s dreading the day she graduates.

She’s startled by her name being called out, tripping when she turns around. Hands come out to steady her by her elbows, and when Harry looks up, she sees those hands are attached to the one and only Louis Tomlinson.

Who cut her hair.

“What…” Harry takes her all in. Louis has chopped her hair off, it barely falling to the top of her shoulders, much different than how it was just that morning. It frames her face so well, and her blinding smile makes Harry blush. “I love it,” Harry says, lifting a hand up to trace her fingers along the edge. She snatches her hand back when Louis chuckles.

“Thank you. Figured it was time for a change,” Louis says with a shrug. The movement draws Harry’s attention to her shoulders which are bare. She’s wearing a skin-tight, sleeveless, dark red playsuit, her boobs popping out even more and legs looking like heaven encased in that tight fabric. It makes Harry feel weak at the knees, especially seeing the black pumps paired with it. When her yes come back up to Louis’, Louis is smiling, and she says, “Your dress is cute. I love the purple on you.”

Harry knows she’s blushing but she can’t be bothered to care. Louis makes her blush in the craziest ways. “Thank you,” she replies. She’s always felt cute in this dress, and hearing Louis compliment her in it is amazing. “I have a knit jumper to match it.”

Louis’ eyes go wide, and she takes a step closer to Harry. Her perfume is lovely but not overpowering, and it’s so  _ Louis _ that Harry already loves it. “If I could get away with wearing jumpers every day of my life I would. I might have to steal that from you Harry.” Louis says it in a faux-serious voice, and Harry lasts for two seconds before breaking out in a wide grin.

“You can borrow it, but please don’t steal it?” begs Harry. She bites her bottom lip, watching Louis’ eyes track the movement closely. Louis’ watching her with - well, Harry doesn’t know what that look is. She has her suspicions, which are confirmed when Harry bites down on her lip then pops it back out, and Louis’ eyes go a little wide and her breathing speeds up, chest rising and falling with the movements.

Louis eyes pop back up a second later, and her cheeks are definitely more rosy than before. Harry knows she is a bit easy on the eyes, but she doesn’t think anybody as attractive (and wonderful) as Louis has ever looked at her that way. At least not that she knows of. The fluttery feeling in her stomach won’t go away, and it makes Harry a little smug at the newfound knowledge.

“Won’t steal it,” Louis chirps, a slightly forced smile gracing her lips.

Harry almost rolls her eyes, but she smiles, bending her elbow out. “Thank you. Now come on,” she says,and if she’s pushing her chest out a little more than normal, only she has to know. Louis’ expression is back to her normal, happy look. “Let’s go get you something to eat while we wait. I’ll have to leave you once the announcing starts though.”

Louis’ pouting face is the single cutest thing Harry has ever seen, and she almost coos, has to force her hand to stay by her side when all she wants to do is pat Louis’ cheek and kiss her forehead. Instead, she turns and leads the way, glancing over her shoulder to make sure Louis is following. She is, and Harry smirks when she sees Louis’ eyes dragging down Harry’s backside, bottom lip caught between her teeth.

With newfound confidence, Harry sways her hips just the slightest bit more as she makes her way to the large table with food. They had Olive Garden cater, so there’s pasta and soup and endless amounts of breadsticks. There’s also some wine for the older adults and older students. It all looks wonderful, in Harry’s opinion, and when the smell of alfredo hits her nose her stomach grumbles the slightest.

It’s only slightly embarrassing, and Harry glances at Louis who is smirking up at her. “Sounds like you should eat too then,” she teases.

Harry flushes down to her toes, glancing around the rest of the yard. Perrie is sitting with Niall and they’re both eating, and Liam and Zayn are sitting with some of the other freshman, eating as well. She probably should eat; if she doesn’t now she knows there won’t be time unless she sneaks back into the kitchen later after everybody has gone to bed or left for after parties. The excitement after initiating everybody usually takes up the rest of the night, and Harry knows she’ll get stuck on cleaning duty.

“Yeah, alright then,” she finally concedes, letting Louis go first. They both make their plates, and Harry asks Louis if she wants some water before grabbing two bottles in one hand, her plate in the other, and turning to search for a place to sit. There are six tables set up around the yard. The closest one has two empty chairs, so Harry nods for Louis to follow, and they both settle next to each other.

“This is fancy eating here,” comments Louis after taking her first bite - not that Harry was staring or anything, she’s just very interested in everything about Louis. Like the way her tongue pokes out the slightest bit before she takes a bite; or the way her now shorter, pixie styled hair keeps falling in her eyes; and how Louis’ eyes sparkle when she catches Harry staring.

“I’m glad you like it,” Harry chokes out, focusing her eyes pointedly on her own plate instead of Louis’ beautiful face.

Perrie’s jingling laugh catches Harry’s attention and she glances over, seeing her friend across the yard laughing at something Niall must have said. It reminds Harry to check the time, and she notes that she has about ten more minutes until she needs to meet the others by the house, where they have the little rented speakers and microphone, a makeshift stage.

She’s nervous, not only because she has to stand in front of a full backyard and speak, but also because they’re about to ask Louis if she’d like the spare room. Harry really hopes she says yes.

“Something on your mind?” Louis’ voice interrupts Harry’s thoughts, and she looks over at those crystal blue eyes staring back.

Harry bites her lip. She doesn’t want to admit that she’s nervous, too afraid that she’ll blurt out the surprise and ruin everything. It probably wouldn’t be too bad, Louis could pretend that she’s surprised when they ask her later, but still. Principals, and all that.

“Yeah yeah,” Harry answers quickly, offering Louis a small smile and shoving another fork-full of pasta in her mouth. Chewing slowly, Harry drops her gaze back to her plate, taking her time with this bite. Louis is still staring at her expectantly when Harry looks back up, and Harry feels herself blush again. “Sorry. Just gotta hurry. I have to go up there soon so we can start it.”

Louis seems to like that explanation since she hums, pointing her fork in the direction of Harry’s plate. “Well then eat. Don’t want you running behind, do we?”

Harry shakes her head and smiles. She focuses on eating, scarfing down half her food before a loud yell sounds from across the yard. Looking up in alarm, Harry’s eyes immediately stop on Jesy, who just stepped out of the back door. Harry doesn’t hesitate in jumping up and running across the yard, scooping up Jesy in her arms.

Perrie is next, and then Niall and Liam and Zayn are there. The six of them are babbling excitedly. Harry notices Jesy is still wearing an ankle brace so she asks, “How’s your ankle love?”

“It’s good, yeah,” Jesy replies. Niall is still attached to her side. “I can walk on it but y’all might need to find me a chair to sit in while we’re announcing everybody.”

“I’ll get you one,” Liam says.

“It’s alright, I was going to sit anyway,” Zayn jokes, and Jesy rolls her eyes. Typical Zayn.

They all catch up for a few minutes, and Harry can’t stop smiling. She’s missed Jesy, and it’s nice to see her in person, see that she’s actually alive and doing well.

It’s when Louis’ name is brought up, Jesy asking them to point her out, that Harry remembers she left the girl hanging, as well as her plate of food. “Over there, in the red,” Harry says, pointing Jesy in Louis’ direction. She’s already watching them, and Harry waves a little.

“She’s pretty, even from this far,” compliments Jesy.

“Speaking of,” Perrie says slowly. Harry and Jesy slowly turn back, and Perrie is smirking right at Harry. “We’ve decided that Harry should do the asking.”

Sputtering, Harry shakes her head, eyes wide at the thought. “What? No, I - ”

“It was a unanimous decision,” Niall cuts Harry off, pointing her thumb in Jesy’s direction. “She agreed as well. You’ll just do it last, yeah?”

Harry groans. Sometimes she hates her friends so much. It’s bad enough that she has to name off the girls who are being initiated, but now she also has to stand in front of the crowd of people and ask Louis personally if she’d like to room with them? It probably isn’t as frightening as it sounds, but Harry has always had stage fright. This is much different, she knows that. But… still.

It also doesn’t help that Harry has developed quite the crush on Louis just over the past three days. But that’s neither here nor there.

Eventually, Harry rolls her eyes, Niall crowing, “Yes! I knew you’d give in,” in her teasing tone. Harry shoots death glares at the blonde but she doesn’t seem to notice, still looking happy as ever.

Liam starts ushering them all towards the microphone then, Zayn stopping to make sure it’s all set up correctly. Everybody is already looking up at them, the small crowd quiet and attentive, and Harry bites her lip nervously.

 

It’s an hour later that the initiation is over and everybody is just mingling and celebrating, and Harry knows she has to make her move.

“Hey,” Harry says as she slides up next to Louis, bumping their shoulders together.

Louis is getting herself some more water at the refreshments table, and she looks up with a smile. “Hi Harry,” she greets cheerfully, “I thanked Perrie but I never got to say anything to you. Thanks for letting me join. I really like you lot.”

Harry feels herself blush as she leads them away from the table, gesturing for Louis to keep following her until they’re inside. “You don’t have to thank me. We all want you here. Liam really likes you, so even if the rest of us didn’t you’d still be in.”

“But she’s not the president?” Louis doesn’t question where they’re going, just stays close behind Harry on the way up the stairs and down the hallway.

“No, but she’s the deciding factor. Well, her and Zayn are. Now.” As Harry comes to a stop in front of the vacant room, she reaches for the spare key. She’s nervous as she lets them in the room, and stops in the middle turning to face Louis. With a deep breath, Harry takes Louis’ hand and drops the key in her palm, gesturing out to the empty room. “Welcome home.”

Louis’ jaw drops comically, her eyes wide and sparkling to match. Harry watches as she turns around in her spot to look around the room, and then she’s stepping up into Harry’s space, engulfing her in a hug. “You’re serious?” Louis asks, crushing Harry close.

She doesn’t mind one bit, laughing into Louis’ shoulder. “Yeah, we decided earlier and they told me to ask you.” Harry pulls away and holds Louis at arm length. “They all want you here Lou. If you’ll take it I mean. The rent will be much cheaper than living in those horrible dorms. It’s also cleaner, and you’ll get fresh meals every day, and - ”

“You don’t have to convince me to move in Harry. I was actually hoping you guys would ask me, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up.” Louis chuckles before shoving the key into the side of her bra. Harry tries her best not to watch Louis’ fingers against her own flesh. “Besides, ‘s not like you can take back the offer now. The key’s somewhere safe.”

Harry thinks about the key that safely hidden in Louis’ bra. Her eyes drop down against her will, wanting so bad to take the key back and maybe a little more than that, but she forces herself to smile, shrugging. “Not taking it back.” Then, before she can think about it any further, “You can move in over the weekend. Zayn has a car and they’ve offered to help move you across campus, and also Jesy’s husband has a truck if we need it.”

“We?”

“Well yeah,” Harry scoffs, “We’re not gonna make you move on your own. If you need the help then I’m offering. And Zayn will too since it’s their car.”

“How did I get so lucky?” Louis says it quiet enough that Harry knows it was a rhetorical question, most likely to herself, so she doesn’t reply. “I’ve only known you all for three days but I can tell I’m gonna love living with you for the next year. Especially you Harriet - ”

“‘S just Harry,” she mumbles automatically - it’s a defense mechanism she developed years ago when she started getting annoyed by the name. Oddly enough, she finds she doesn’t mind when Louis uses it.

Louis’ lips quirk in a knowing smile but she continues, “I can tell we’re gonna be great friends.”

Even though Harry can’t tell if Louis’ means it literally or not, she still feels herself smile and nod along. “I can too,” she admits, “Now come on. They’re probably all waiting for us to come back down. I know they’re impatient to know you said yes.”

“Lead the way then Harry,” Louis chirps, but not without looping her arm through Harry’s first. “I was gonna go to one of those parties tonight, see what all the hype about American College Parties is all about, but I’d rather get back to the dorm and get packing as soon as possible.”

Harry laughs, tugging Louis along on the way out. “I’ll give you my number so you can let me know when you’re all packed for Zayn and I to head over.”

“Perfect.”

-

Harry hears from Louis Sunday morning, as she’s sipping her tea and peeling apart an orange.

She just got back from her morning run, and it’s still early enough that the rest of the house is still asleep, the sun barely peeking through the windows. She’s sweaty and in need of a long shower and some fresh clothes, but the ache in her back and the strain on her leg muscles feel amazing. It’s not an every morning occurrence, just whenever Harry wakes up early enough.

She’s surprised to see a text light up her phone while throwing away the orange peels, and even more surprised to see it’s Louis.

‘ _ Just finished packing!! _ ’ it says and Harry snorts into her tea.

_ ‘at 7 in the morning? okaaayyy _ ’ she sends back before dumping the rest of her tea and going upstairs. After a couple minutes, Harry unlocks her phone again to see Louis read the text but didn’t answer, so she sends ‘ _ its too early for zayn, i could still their car if the load is light enough _ ’.

Louis’ reply is a thumbs up and then a moment later she sends which hall she’s in, so Harry is quick to jump in the shower, foregoing washing her hair. She throws it up in a bun after and pulls on clean clothes, then sneaks across the hall and into Zayn’s room, where she finds them and Liam cuddled up close under the covers.

“Hey babe,” she whispers, running her fingers through Zayn’s hair until Zayn blinks up at her sleepily. “Can I steal the car? Louis’ ready. It’s light enough so you don’t have to help.”

Zayn just blinks again before nodding, grumbling out a vague sound of consent and pointing a finger in the direction of their dresser. Keys sit on top, and Harry presses a quick kiss Zayn’s forehead in thanks, grabbing the keys after. The two in bed shuffle around, and while Harry knows it’s more than creepy to watch, she can’t help it. They are her best friends and they look too adorable wrapped up in each other under the covers for her to not take a picture; she knows Niall will get a kick out of it later.

It’s cool enough outside at the moment that Harry grabs a jumper on her way out, texting Louis that she’s on the way. The hall Louis is in really is across campus, and Harry frowns at herself, knowing Louis had to walk all the way the past week. It’s only five minutes in a car, but on foot it would be much longer.

Louis is waiting outside when Harry pulls up and parks the car, a few boxes already sitting at her feet. “I see you started without me,” Harry jokes, looking over Louis and the boxes surrounding her feet. Louis looks beautiful as always in leggings and her own jumper, and the boxes on the concrete are stuffed full. “There’s not much here…”

“All I have left are the clothes on my hangers and my suitcase,” Louis quips, smiling at Harry brightly. Harry helps her stuff the boxes in the backseat while Louis explains, “You have to remember young Harriet, I just moved here across the  _ globe _ . All I really have are clothes and school stuff right now.”

Instead of correcting Louis for using the wrong name again, Harry thinks back to when she first moved into the dorms, how she had the clothes and shoes in her closet, the very few knickknacks lining her desk, a scrapbook that she couldn’t part with, and her school books. If she would’ve had the opportunity to move into a sorority house back then, she wouldn’t have had much stuff either.

“Don’t worry,” Harry says with a chuckle, “By the end of the year you’ll be leaving with triple this amount, I guarantee it.”

“I believe you,” is all Louis says.

And -  _ fuck _ . She’s leaning over to stuff the last box in the backseat and Harry’s eyes are drawn to her arse, how plump and round it looks. It would feel so amazing in her hands, and Harry feels her cheeks go hot as arousal swims in her stomach.

For chrissake, she’s barely been helping Louis for ten minutes and already she’s having horrible thoughts. Harry doesn’t know how she’s going to survive a whole school year.

“Alright then,” Louis exclaims as she stands straight again, shuffling her tufts of hair until they’re sitting in the right position again. “Just a few more things and then we can go. I already got all the stupid paperwork done with the school so once we’re done we’re done.”

Harry bites her lip, hoping Louis hadn’t noticed she was staring. “Have you changed your address with the post office?”

Louis’ face falls, a moment later her eyes roll, and she stomps off towards the building again. “There’s so much shit you have to go through just to move,” she complains.

Harry follows after her quickly, slipping in behind Louis and following her to the end of the hall in the left wing. She never stayed in this dorm, but she’s been here before, visiting friends and whatnot. Louis was lucky enough to get a room on the first floor, but that doesn’t matter now that she’s in the house.

The room looks like any other dorm room, one side looking lived in while the other is bare save for the clothes in the makeshift closet and the open suitcase sitting on the naked bed. “‘M roommate’s gone for the weekend, back home or summat, so I’ve been able to pack in peace,” Louis explains.

Harry hums. “The post office doesn’t open until eight,” she says conversationally while watching Louis lay all the rest of her clothes over her forearm. There isn’t a lot, mostly tops and graphic tees and jumpers, a few dresses, and the red playsuit she was wearing on Friday.

And then, because the idea pops into her mind and it sounds more and more appealing by the second, Harry mumbles, “We could find somewhere for breakfast until then?”

“Oh yes please,” Louis groans, stopping a moment to nod over her shoulder at Harry before resuming. “I woke up at three this morning because my sleep cycle is fucked and I’ve been anxious to get out of this tiny room, and I haven’t even had water since then.”

Score, Harry thinks with a smile. It won’t be a date, not at all, but breakfast with a pretty woman while helping her move is the most eventful and interesting thing Harry’s ever done on a Sunday morning. “There’s this great place just outside of campus. It’s open twenty-four seven and they have the best egg toastie.”

Louis turns now that she’s finished, and her eyes are wide in surprise. “Egg toastie? In California?”

Harry laughs at that, nodding. “Yeah. Well it’s not on the menu but I’ve been going there for four years and somehow convinced them to make it for me. It’s my usual. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind making it for you as well.”

“I’m so glad I found you,” Louis chirps, “You’ve gone and Britishised everything for me already.”

Harry helps Louis situate the clothes in the suitcase. “Well someone had to do it.” She shrugs. “‘Sides, Irving loves me to death. He’d make the cooks fix up anything for me if I just asked.”

“I’m guessing Irving is the owner and he loves you like a daughter,” Louis deadpans, and Harry quickly realizes what she said may have sounded a bit wrong.

“Oh god,” she quickly mutters, her face falling into her hands with a huff. “Yeah, yes. Of course. Irv’s like my uncle. We just grew close because his wife is from Chester. I used to go there all the time to study and they’d sit down with me and talk about home.”

“Huh, small world. Chester, you said?”

“Yeah. I almost went to uni there too. Irving said he’d been an exchange student there and that’s how he met his wife. She’s lovely too, really great. She has tea imported all the time so if you’re ever out you can always ask her.”

“Wow. I got lucky to score two people from home. And here I thought I’d be all alone for the whole year.”

Harry rolls her eyes. “Come on. If we’re finished we should go. We might be able to beat the morning rush.”

Harry helps with the last load downstairs, then waits patiently as Louis stuffs her keyfob and room key in an envelope and stick it in the door slot to the building’s office. She’s quiet as she climbs into the car, and Harry smiles, driving out of the parking lot.

Breakfast is a quiet affair. Irving is leaving just as they show up, but he tells their waitress to give them the family discount anyway. Louis sits across from Harry in the last booth, ordering the same as Harry, and they talk back and forth. Louis tells Harry a story about her younger twin sisters both losing a tooth simultaneously and how her mum accidentally put tenners under their pillows in the middle of the night because of how tired she was.

Harry listens, enrapt by Louis’ voice and storytelling antics, how animatedly she talks about her sisters. Louis is mesmerizing to watch, and she’s quite loud as well. Harry could sit there and kind of like just admire what she’s like. Harry could sit there all morning listening to her talk, and she would if the opportunity arose.

Louis is getting restless though, Harry can tell by the way she’s tapping on the table and bouncing in her seat, so Harry calls for the check and pays.

They stop by the post office as well and Louis makes the change, and the whole drive back to the house Louis can’t stop… moving. She shifts and bounces her leg and bites her lip and messes with her hair. “You alright?” Harry asks quietly, parking Zayn’s car in the short drive in front of the house.

Louis’ eyes snap up to Harry, wide, and she shrugs. “Yeah. Just nervous I guess.”

“You’ve got no reason to be. Everybody already loves you here. I doubt anybody is up right now except for Liam. We’ll have to be quiet but we can move everything in before you have to face people.”

Sighing, Louis nods and clambers out of the car without saying anything. Harry is quick to follow, blinking at Louis owlishly across the hood of the car, asking, “Do you wanna grab a few things now so one of us can unlock the door easier, or just go all in?”

“Few things now, probably,” murmurs Louis. She looks deflated almost, but Harry doesn’t think she’s close enough to Louis yet to ask again. She can push Niall all she pleases to get answers, but her new friendship with Louis isn’t to that level yet.

With a sigh, Harry shoots the warmest smile she can manage at the other girl, then jumps right in. They both only carry a box each, creeping through the house quietly, unlocking Louis’ room to set everything inside. In total it takes less than half an hour to get everything unloaded, and by then Harry knows the others will start waking up soon. As they make the last trek upstairs, Liam comes bumbling out of Zayn’s room, sleep-rumpled and rubbing her eyes.

“Hey H, hi Lou,” she greets softly, nodding at them both and then going downstairs.

Harry can see Louis biting her lip nervously so she nudges her along, smiling encouragingly. “Last trip,” she says, following Louis in her room again. Instead of it being empty and white, it’s now slightly cluttered with boxes and the large suitcase and the floor lamp Louis lugged upstairs this last trip. By the end of the week it’ll be lived in, the thought making Harry happier than she thought it would.

“Perrie’ll have found the other key, for the front and back doors, and you’ll also get the code to the side gate and the pool house.” After Harry takes one last look around the room, her eyes settle on Louis again. Louis is crowding her space immediately, crushing her in a wonderful hug. Harry can feel the tufts of Louis’ hair tickling at her nose, their chests pressed close, and she sighs, wrapping Louis up in her arms as well.

Louis smells amazing.

It shouldn’t send a flutter of - of  _ something _ through Harry, but it does.

She ignores it, listening intently when she hears Louis start talking. “Seriously, thank you guys so much.” Harry is about to tell Louis to stop thanking her, but Louis pulls away, her gaze piercing. “I grew up in a loud household with a million sisters. Going to a dorm room was, well, not much different I guess. But I didn’t enjoy it at all. I already feel more comfortable here, so. Yeah. Thanks.” By the end of her little speech her voice has lowered to a whisper, eyes downcast.

Harry rolls her eyes, shaking Louis’ shoulders lightly to get her to look up again. “Love, it’s alright, really. We want you here. Perrie will want to give you the official tour - there’s more to see than what we show you during rush week - and I know Niall is dying to talk to you again.”

Louis shakes her head, smiling. “You’re a sap,” she comments, “Alright then. I can unpack later. I’m kinda excited for this official tour.”

There’s an excited glint in Louis’ eyes as Harry leads her downstairs, already hearing Niall’s loud southern accent from the kitchen.

It isn’t until later when Perrie and Niall drag Louis off to show her the secret shower in the basement, that Harry realizes she called Louis love. It’s a simple term of endearment, more common from where Harry and Louis are from, so it shouldn’t mean anything more. Yet Harry’s sitting there, feeling giddy with a crush.

She hasn’t even known Louis a week, and she already knows it’s more than just wanting in her pants.

_ Fuck _ .

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have all of chapter three written and most of chapter four written as well. they're in the process of being betaed, so hopefully i can update faster! come pester me harrystinyshorts.tumblr.com
> 
> x


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